Mao Dehua (; November 1935 – 26 January 2019) was a Chinese geographer and politician. He served as Director of the

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Vice Chairman of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, and Vice Chairman of the Xinjiang

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

(CPPCC).

Biography

Mao was born in November 1935 in

Taicang Taicang is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The city located in the south of the Yangtze River estuary opposite Nantong, being bordered by Shanghai proper to the south, while the river also delineates ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

. He entered

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianl ...

in September 1953 and graduated in 1957 with a degree in

natural geography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...

. In May 1958 he began working for the

branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and participated in field surveys in Xinjiang for earthquake and resource investigation. In June 1979 he became Deputy Director of the Institute of Geographic Research of the CAS Xinjiang branch, and was later promoted to director. In July 1984, he was appointed Director of the CAS Xinjiang branch. In December 1985, Mao was appointed Vice Chairman of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. In January 1993, he became Vice Chairman of the Xinjiang

(CPPCC). He served two terms until his retirement in June 2004. Mao died in

Ürümqi Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...

on 26 January 2019, at the age of 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mao, Dehua 1935 births 2019 deaths Chinese geographers Scientists from Suzhou People from Taicang Nanjing University alumni Political office-holders in Xinjiang